Space
Astronauts trapped in space can breathe a sigh of relief: last-minute decision made by NASA 10 years ago changed the future
At the end of September, NASA and SpaceX launched the mission that will bring back to planet Earth the two astronauts who were trapped on the International Space Station (ISS) after problems on the Starliner, produced by Boeing. This rescue could very well not happen if a decade ago NASA hadn't changed a certain contract at the last minute.
On June 5, Boeing's Starliner took off with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams for a relatively short “trip.” They were only supposed to stay on the ISS for eight days, however, the ship remained docked at the station for three months while ground teams debated whether or not to return the crew aboard the troubled Starliner.
During the trip to the ISS, five of the spacecraft's thrusters failed and it developed several significant helium leaks, one of which was identified before liftoff. Finally, and after much debate, NASA agreed to call Starliner back to Earth, but without crew. The two astronauts will return aboard a SpaceX Dragon.
Naturally, we now have data that could not have been predicted a decade ago, but considering what happened, choosing Boeing as its sole commercial partner would have been a questionable decision on NASA's part. At the time, however, Boeing was the most reliable option, while SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, was a newcomer that had not yet had the opportunity to prove its value.
This happened in 2014 and, at that moment in space history, NASA was reflecting on a contract that would define the space race for the next few years. At issue was the contract under the space agency's Commercial Crew Program to develop ships capable of transporting crew and cargo to the International Space Station.